Marine Turtle Conservation in India

Marine turtles are large, air-breathing reptiles that live in tropical and sub tropical seas throughout the world. Fossil turtles date back to the Triassic Era some 200 million years ago.

The most obvious characteristic of this group of reptiles is the presence of a protective shell. The shell is composed of three parts - an upper shell, or carapace, attached to the lower plastron by a bony bridge.

Instead of teeth, turtles are equipped with a horny bill. Marine turtle limbs have evolved into flippers and their body shape is streamlined.

Turtles, like all reptiles, are cold blooded (ectothermic). Their body temperature is the same as their surroundings.

And all present day turtles lay eggs. Marine turtles typically mate at sea a few weeks prior to nesting and only the females come ashore to nest. The males are never found on the coast, though they have been sighted in the coastal waters.

Nesting activity normally takes place in the cover of darkness. Female turtles dig nest, which is flask shaped beyond the high water mark with the help of their flippers. Each female would lay approximately 150 eggs, which are ping-pong (table tennis) ball size and soft shelled.

Incubation period for these eggs is usually between 50-70 days depending on the species. The eggs are closely packed and in contact with one another. Metabolic heating within the nest helps to speed up the hatching process in the final stages of incubation. The gender is temperature dependent, meaning higher the temperature more number of females, lower the temperature more number of males.

The hatchlings emerge at night and head towards the sea guided by the glow of the moon and the stars, coupled with the sound of the waves. While they walk towards the sea imprinting takes place that enables them to return to their natal beach for nesting when they mature.

Marine turtles are subject to dwindling habitation - nesting sites and foraging sites. Despite international recognition of critical status, their population has been decreasing rapidly.

Five species of marine turtles found in this region are classified as endangered and therefore require urgent action for their conservation. South Asian waters provide a feeding and developing ground, and a migratory corridor. Unfortunately, the major nesting beaches are in the area where the human population density is very high.

According to the Hindu mythology, the God of preservation, Lord Vishnu, was reincarnated as a ‘Kachhapa’ meaning turtle. Lord Vishnu as a turtle is believed to have carried the earth on his back. In Andhra Pradesh if a live turtle is caught in net, the boatmen apply vermilion pray to it in order to bring prosperity and release it back to sea. But in the modern times, these religious sentiments do not hold true.

Threats to the marine turtle are on the rise which has drastic impact on their survival rate. Scientists believe that the presence of marine turtles in the marine ecosystem indicates the health of the sea. Threats to marine turtles are not just from natural predators like sharks and natural demographic changes but also from predators on land – humans and animals & birds alike.

The Department of Environment and Forests has the pivotal role in the conservation and management However, over the years NGOs and other relevant agencies like Coast Guard (in some parts of India) have also joined hands of the management authority.

Despite legal protection accorded to marine turtles under the Indian Wildlife Protection Act (1972), and in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna & Flora (CITIES), the population in on a world-wide decline. Though there exists no commercial or international trade in marine turtle meat & products in India, the numbers frequenting the coast has steadily declined.

Large-scale turtle mortality resulted in the US embargo on shrimp export from India. Sustainable fisheries with use of bycatch reduction devices specially Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) needs to be promoted. Community participation is essential to facilitate conservation in nesting sites.